1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a file management apparatus, a file management method, and a computer program product for managing a plurality of files. The present invention more particularly relates to a file management apparatus, a file management method, and a computer program product that allows a user to manage files visually.
2. Description of the Related Art
With widespread use of information equipments, such as personal computers (PCs), digital cameras, and mobile phones, documents and images are increasingly used in computerized formats (hereinafter, the computerized documents and images are referred to as “files”). The files as the computerized documents and images are managed by the information equipments such that a user can search for and view desired files by operating the information equipments.
For example, WINDOWS (registered trademark) that is used as an operating system (OS) in typical PCs manages files by using a tree structure that represents a hierarchical relationship between folders. Therefore, search for a desired file is generally performed by accessing the folders in the tree structure through top-down search or bottom-up search.
Furthermore, conventionally, there has been proposed a technology for managing files in an intuitive manner by visualizing files or folders that are used for classifying or organizing the files into respective thumbnail images or icon images. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2006-268295 discloses a conventional user-interface display apparatus that displays icon images of a plurality of upper-layer folders on a top portion of a screen in a horizontal direction, displays in the middle and on a bottom portion of the screen thumbnail images of a plurality of files that are located in layers under one specific folder among the folders that respectively correspond to the icons displayed on the top portion of the screen, and displays a specific thumbnail image in a relatively larger size from among the thumbnail images, so that the user-interface display apparatus enables a user to easily understand a concept of operation and a scroll process for the thumbnail images.
However, in the conventional user-interface display apparatus, a folder in the tree structure is employed as a unit for managing files, so that file management is deployed in a depth direction. Therefore, operation that is more cumbersome is required for files stored in lower layers. Furthermore, a folder corresponding to one node and another folder corresponding to another node are located in different positions (layers) in the tree structure, so that it is difficult to intuitively recognize a relationship between these folders.
The applicant of the present invention has proposed a file management apparatus that displays a plurality of symbol images, each of which serves as a unit for managing files, in a matrix form on a display unit, and, when a command for selecting one symbol image from among the symbol images being displayed is issued, displays on the display unit thumbnail images of files that are registered in association with the selected symbol image, so that the file management apparatus enables a user to intuitively recognize a relationship between the units of managing files and thereby allows the user to effectively manage the files (see Japanese Patent Application No. 2008-124060, which is filed on May 9, 2008).
FIG. 39 is a schematic diagram of an example of a file management screen for displaying files managed by the above-mentioned file management apparatus on a display device of a computer. As shown in the figure, on the display device, areas P (places) in which files are registered are displayed in a matrix form and layer name areas L1 representing layers for managing the places in the same row are displayed in a vertical direction and adjacent to the places P (a place map screen). Here, a matrix of the above-mentioned places, which is formed of layers arranged in multiple stages, in the place map screen is referred to as “a place matrix”.
FIG. 40 is a schematic diagram of an example of a place view screen to be displayed on the display device when a desired area is specified on the place map screen shown in FIG. 39. When a user specifies a desired area on the place map screen, files that the file management apparatus manages in association with the specified area are displayed three-dimensionally on a screen of the display device. In this example, twelve thumbnail images “Bc1” to “Bc12” that are registered in a place named “Bc (e.g., Party)” are arrayed and displayed in a matrix of four rows and three columns. Furthermore, a width of a lane L0 is gradually narrowed toward an upper portion of the screen, and sizes of the thumbnail images are adjusted in proportion to the width of the lane L0, so that the thumbnail images are displayed three-dimensionally.
In the place view screen, it is possible to switch thumbnail images to be displayed from the thumbnail images being displayed to thumbnail images of respective files in areas (Ac, Bc, Bb, and Bd) that are respectively arranged above, below, on the left, and on the right of the current place on the place map screen, by using a place switching button (not shown) arranged at a bottom portion of the screen.